At present, in commercial applications of Gigabit-Capable Passive Optical Network (GPON) ONT, due to the need of different markets and regions, typically there are many differences in requirements for an operation mode of an ONT. In some applications, the ONT is required to operate in a network bridge mode to forward data from a user network interface (UNI) side to an access node interface (ANI) side in a bridging manner. In some applications, the ONT is required to operate in a gateway mode to forward data from the UNI side to the ANI side in a routing manner.
Due to the difference in management of the two modes, most devices in telecom markets today are separated to two types of GPON ONT network bridge type and GPON ONT gateway type, which cannot allow operators to flexibly change management modes according to market demands, thereby increasing the cost. Some device providers switch the devices between the gateway mode and the network bridge mode in private ways, however, such an approach cannot make the devices be compatible and capable of intercommunicating with other providers' devices, which is also adverse to the operators' network layout.